Only In New York
by EnchantedtoMeetYou
Summary: Six years have gone by since they ran into each other at Nationals and Jesse and Rachel are cast in a revival of Thoroughly Modern Millie. Now, these kindred spirits are practically strangers all over again, working alongside each other to become the stars they were born to become. The road to stardom is rough... and falling in love all over again can complicate things even more.
1. Forgot About The Girl

Years and years of tireless lessons, rehearsals, and auditions paved the way for the life Jesse St. James was living now. Long ago were the days where his reputation was only that of an ex-show choir star who couldn't even make it through a semester at college or coach a team to national victory. Many thought the heyday of Jesse St. James was long over about six years ago, but it was really just beginning. Now he was nearing his twenty sixth birthday, living in New York, and already with a few gigs on Broadway under his belt. They weren't very big, but they got his name out there and opened the doors for more auditions that led to this: His first starring role.

It was a brand new revival for the Broadway showstopper, Thoroughly Modern Millie. He recently got the call that he had beat out all other men auditioning for the role of Jimmy Smith and the part was all his. No other harsh opinion of past or present pertaining him mattered because he was getting to do everything he ever said he'd do. He was finally going to be the star that he was born to be and the whole Broadway world would know his name.

The first day of official rehearsals called for an early start and Jesse had every intention of being the first to arrive to make a good impression with the creative team and the rest of his cast. As their male lead, he felt a similar responsibility to them like the one he felt when he was starring in Vocal Adrenaline so many years back. He had an important job to help lead the show to greatness alongside his co-star, whom he had yet to actually meet. He didn't know of any of his cast mates, actually. They were all informed of the parts they had gotten from the producer and director in private, so today would be the first day they were all introduced.

When the elevator reached the floor of the dance studio they were told to report to, he was caught by surprise when he heard the sound of some very talented tap dancing coming from the rehearsal room. Someone had _actually _beaten him there. Figuring it was his co-star, he quietly pushed the door open to take a peak.

The first sight of her was from behind. She was small, even in her tap shoes with their three and a half inch heels. Her long dark hair was in loose curls and she wore a very sleek black leotard with fishnet tights that had nice long seams running down the back of her legs in an almost vintage look. She was so sexy and yet so familiar…

Then he caught her reflection in the mirror before her and his heart stopped dead in his chest. Before he realized it, the tapping had stopped and she was standing there frozen with her eyes glued on his reflection behind her in the mirror. And in a second, the initial shock faded because they both realized that they didn't really feel it much at all. It was no surprise that they were running into each other this way. Soft smiles crossed their lips as they both crossed the room to meet each other in the center.

"It's about time," he murmured, looking down a sort of softness that only ever came out when he saw her.

Rachel stood up taller and placed her hands on her hips proudly.

"I know. It's great to—"

"Alright, everyone inside and sit on the floor before we start!" called out the stage manager from the door to the group of actors crowded around in the hall.

They all filtered in and Rachel quickly sat down, pulling Jesse down with her. When the whole cast was sitting on the hardwood floor, the producer, director, musical director, and stage manager took their spots in front of the room.

"It was a long process, but welcome to the revival production of Thoroughly Modern Millie!" said the director, David Chase. "First things first. We all need to get to know each other. So let's have our stars come forward. Playing the role of Millie Dillmount, we have the lovely Ms. Angelica Levy. Come forward Angelica."

A tall leggy woman with wavy red hair pulled into a loose ponytail sitting in the front of the group pushed herself up to her feet and gave the group a little wave in response to the applause.

Jesse felt Rachel's shoulders slump next to him and his heart practically sank at the same time when he realized that she wasn't starring opposite him like he figured. He glanced over at her, noticing that she had put on a brave show face and applauded for Angelica like the rest.

"Since Millie was Sutton Foster's first major starring role, we wanted to go with someone new as well. With any luck, by the time the show opens, everyone will be lining up and praising the name Angelica Levy."

"David, please," said Angelica with a slightly sheepish grin.

Rachel's shoulders slumped all over again. Jesse wanted to reach out and give her some sort of touch for comfort, but that instinct needed to be ignored. It's been years and they were now practically strangers all over again. Kindred spirits, yes, but strangers nonetheless.

"And our female lead needs a winning male. Playing the role of Jimmy Smith, we have Jesse St. James!"

Jesse smiled and pushed himself up to join Angelica in the front of the room. As he looked out at the room of applauding actors, he noticed Rachel giving him a smile that was actually genuine.

"All the girls in the audience will be swooning when you take the stage," said David as he slapped Jesse's shoulder with a rolled up script.

He laughed and turned to face Angelica who had tapped his other shoulder.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Jesse. And I'm sure it'll be even more of a delight to work with you," she said, holding out her hand for him to shake. Her big blue eyes sort of brightened up when he returned her smile and shook her hand.

"Definitely will be a pleasure," he nodded.

So caught up in meeting his new co-star, he didn't see Rachel staring up at them with wide eyes. She quickly pursed her lips and looked away before anyone realized just how irritated she probably looked right now.

"So how about we move on to the rest of our cast?" asked the director as he clapped his hands together.

He brought forward every other major character and introduced them to the rest of the group, but never called Rachel forward. By the time the last of the characters who actually had names were standing up, he realized the fact of the matter at hand. Rachel was in the ensemble.

She sat there, trying not to look like the fact that she was not up there crushed her. And while this was a really important moment for Jesse and his career, it sort of sucked to see Rachel sitting there like that. Everyone else in the ensemble looked just as excited as the leads to just be chosen to be there. They looked exactly how he felt when he had been cast in his first ensemble job in a show. But he knew that hardly any of these people were here for the first time. Not even Rachel was. They were all trying to pay their dues for as long as it took to earn their spot up there where Jesse stood with the rest of the major cast members.

There was a difference, though.

He knew that Rachel deserved to be right up there with him just as much as he did. He was certain that behind those brown eyes, she was absolutely aware of the fact as well. That's why the smile she wore wasn't as genuine as the rest.

The ensemble introduced themselves one by one and when it came down to Rachel, she gave her best smile and crossed her hands together on her lap.

"I'm Rachel Berry and I'm delighted to be here working with you all," she said briefly.

Jesse tried to get some eye contact with her, but she seemed to be avoiding it at the moment. At the same time, Angelica was trying to get his attention, so he gave up and let Angelica have what she wanted for the next hour.

Luckily, the years had gone by had made it less difficult for him to be in the same room as his ex-girlfriend as it would have been if this would have happened when he had first moved to the big city and Rachel was still studying at NYADA. Time had a way of healing things and it was a pleasant surprise to actually feel okay in her presence. Even more, he didn't find himself aching to go across the room and talk to her about how she had been doing over the last six years. In a way, it was almost liberating to not be so lost in her spell that she was the only thing he could really see. He was fine. He was better than fine.

He was happy.

Across the room, Rachel had just finished changing into her character shoes when she stood up and bypassed the group of ensemble members who had already gotten so friendly without her. She had pulled her white over sized sweater on over her leotard and walked over to where the group of main leads were standing together.

Feeling a light tap on his shoulder, Jesse turned around to find Rachel standing there with an almost expectant look on her face.

"Hello again," he said as he leaned back against the mirrored wall with his arms crossed.

"You two know each other?" asked Angelica as she leaned back as well, almost mirroring Jesse's actions.

"We go back a little," was all he said.

Rachel's smile fell, for a quick second, but she didn't let it stay down for very long.

"Rosie, was it?" asked Angelica as she offered her hand out to Rachel.

Rachel bit her lip and shook her head, but took her hand anyway and gave it a quick shake.

"It's—"

"Rachel," murmured Jesse. "Rachel Berry."

Angelica looked between the two of them and dropped her hand back to her side.

"Congratulations again on the part, Angelica. Millie is such a huge role and I'm sure you're just going to kill it," said Rachel with as much of a genuine smile as she can muster.

"You're too sweet," she replied. "I really hope I do it justice. Sutton was just so amazing in it and—"

"You will. I'm sure you will. They picked you as the star for a reason," Rachel replied. "I don't know if you remember, but I was there at callbacks. I saw your audition after I got cut… You're definitely talented enough for the part. Definitely."

Rachel nodded a tiny nod and gave her a small smile.

Angelica's bright blue eyes lit up to the point that she was absolutely beaming now.

"You don't know what it means to hear that…," said Angelica, shaking her head slightly. "You know what? Have my card and give me a call sometime. We need to get together now that we're going to be working together. It'll be fun."

She reached into her purse and popped out a pink card with a gold star on it and the name 'Angelica Levy' in lovely cursive. Rachel took it and her eyebrow raised a little at the sight of it.

"Definitely…" she murmured before looking back to Jesse.

"Anyway… Jesse… I figured that since we didn't properly get a chance to catch up, that we could maybe get together after this for some coffee? I know a place nearby…" she inquired, smiling up at him hopefully.

Jesse's eyes widened a little and he stood back up straight.

"Actually… a bunch of us were going to get together for an early lunch after this… If I hadn't already made plans…" he shrugged, looking away guiltily.

"It's fine. I figured you'd be busy," she murmured, looking a little defeated.

"Here's an idea!" chimed in Angelica. "How about you come with? There's going to be plenty of room at the restaurant."

Rachel gave her a half smile, but shook her head.

"It's alright. I just remembered that I have to get home and… feed my cats."

She quickly looked away and cringed at her excuse.

"Oh, you have a cat, too?" Jesse asked as he walked over to grab his shoulder bag from where he had been sitting on the floor before.

Rachel followed after him and nodded.

"Two. It's me, Kurt, and then little Judy and Barbra," she explained with a proud grin.

"You didn't name your cats after Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand," he muttered in mock surprise. That sort of thing was so Rachel Berry and he really wasn't surprised one bit. "You so would."

"And I did!"

They shared a small laugh and he turned to look back at the rest of the group that was about to head out for lunch.

"I guess you should be going," she said as she grabbed her own bag and clutched onto the strap.

"Yeah, I guess."

She looked up at him as though calculating something. He tilted his head curiously in response to that.

"If you ever wanted to get together for that coffee, you could always give me a call," she suggested, looking up at him like she was that insecure high school girl he met so long ago.

"Oh, sure. Sure," he nodded.

"Do you still have my number?" she asked.

He bit his lip and shook his head.

"I kind of lost all my contacts when I broke my phone a few years back…"

That wasn't exactly factual. The truth was that he forced himself to have a clean break from her once and for all after the last time he saw her when she won Nationals. He had said help send her on her way to NYADA and then he was done. For his own sake, he just needed to be done. That was a dark night filled with tears he never wanted to shed, but he did what he had to do. He deleted her number and started the real process of moving on and healing the broken heart he had lived with for so long before.

Looking down at her now, he knew for sure that it had been all for the best. His heart didn't ache or tug. He didn't have any serious urge to whisk her away and try for another chance. He was perfectly alright and he would be perfectly alright walking away from her now.

"Here," Rachel said, grabbing her own pink card with its own gold star on it and handing it off to him. "Don't lose it this time."

Jesse nodded and pocketed it.

"My number hasn't changed so… if you still have it, you know how to reach me."

"I do," she replied.

That actually came as somewhat of a surprise to Jesse, as he had expected that she would have deleted his number a long time ago. Either that, or Finn would have done it for her at some point.

"So we'll talk sometime," he said, taking a step back away from her.

"Sure," she smiled.

"Gotta go now, though."

"I know," she nodded. "Have fun!"

He gave her a small smile and turned to walk away, feeling content in the fact that he was able to. As it really turned out, he didn't need love after all. The spell was broken and he didn't need to look back at her for a second as he walked out the door.

Running his hand through his hair, he pushed the elevator and turned around to lean against the wall and his eyes found their way right back to her. Their eyes locked for a brief second across the hall and he felt himself smile. Catching himself, he straightened up and turned away just in time to step on the elevator when the door opened. As the door slowly closed shut, he kept his eyes down on the floor and reminded himself that he was happy. He was fine. What did he need with love, anyway?


	2. Sabotage

The sound of the front door slamming echoed throughout the Greenwich Village apartment that Rachel Berry and Kurt Hummel now called home. It was a recent move and most of their things were still packed up in boxes and milk crates, but it was definitely a step up from where they had been living for the past few years. It cost a little bit more, but it was definitely worth the price now that they were in Manhattan and not in a terribly sketchy neighborhood.

"Did you really have to slam the door? One of the pictures I just hung up nearly fell off the wall and that would have been an expensive frame to replace," said Kurt from where he stood in the hall next to a box of photos and art pieces he was working on decorating the bare wall.

"Not now," Rachel grumbled, dropping her dance bag and grabbing the nearest cat to snuggle on the couch.

"Rehearsal not go as planned?" he asked as he raised a nail to the spot where he had carefully marked before to hammer it in.

"It was a nightmare and you wouldn't believe who—"

She stopped dead in her tracks when she reached the living room and saw someone sitting on the couch already.

"This is nice wine you got here," said Santana as she reclined comfortably on the couch with her thigh high boot covered legs up on the coffee table. "So are you going to say hello or…?"

"Santana!" Rachel squealed as she ran for the couch and practically tackle hugged the woman. "It's been too long. How have you been? What are you doing here?"

Santana cringed and shot Rachel a glare when she nearly caused her to spill her wine all over her purple mini dress that she had just bought a week ago.

"I heard you two were in the Village now, and I came to visit. I live a few blocks down with some girlfriends."

Rachel's eyebrows pulled together thoughtfully.

"Girlfriends or _girlfriends_?" she asked as she ran her fingertips lightly along little Barbra's back. "No judgment, either way."

"Depends on the day," Santana murmured with a wink.

"So, anyway… I wouldn't believe who what?" asked Kurt as he joined them on a chair nearby. He looked at Santana to fill her in. "Rachel's in a show and today was her first day of rehearsal."

"Up to speed. So what happened?" asked Santana.

"I got there and we got to meet the rest of the cast. Well guess who is starring as Jimmy Smith?"

"Aaron Tveit?" asked Kurt hopefully. "But no… we would have heard of that by now if it were the case…"

Rachel shook her head and threw her head back against the couch cushion with a groan.

"It's Jesse."

"St. James?" asked Santana quickly. "I thought that loser was still back in Ohio trying to make Vocal Adrenaline not so much of a joke anymore."

"That guy will just not disappear. Every time we think we're rid of him, he comes back to make your life hell all over again," muttered Kurt as he poured Rachel a heavy glass of wine to dull the pain.

"No… No. Jesse's not being a jerk to me at all. It's just the fact that… and I know how petty this sounds, but how could he have made it before I did? I mean, I have a degree from NYADA and my agent hasn't been able to get me anything outside of the chorus!"

"St. Sucks flunks out of school and coaches a team to failure and he gets a lead. I see where you're depressed over this. Ordering take out now…" he said as he grabbed his laptop onto his lap and flipped it open to make an order.

"And the girl that they got to play Millie has no serious Broadway credits. She's done less work than I have and they're trusting her with this whole show!"

"Is she any good?" asked Santana, who seemed to be considering giving one of the cats some of her wine.

"She's great, but—"

"You're better," said Kurt.

"Of course I am! And you know what? She just stands there with the rest of the leads laughing with them and throwing herself all over Jesse…"

"That's sickening," muttered Kurt.

"He's way too good for her, anyway. I hope he doesn't fall for whatever tricks she's sure to throw his way," Rachel muttered bitterly. "I'm sure now that she has the star role, all she needs is the star boyfriend and—"

"Why do you care so much that they'd date?" asked Kurt as he peered over his laptop screen.

"Because… Look, I may not have spent a lot of time with Jesse in a while, but I know him better than she does and I know that he's too good for her!"

"You've got a neon sign blaring around you that just screams, 'I'm jealous!'" said Santana as she poured herself another glass of wine.

Rachel choked on her own and shook her head furiously.

"Jesse's an old friend. I'm allowed to be concerned over who he dates."

"You don't even know if he's going to date her. And really, you don't know anything about this chick, either," she shrugged. "Just playing devil's advocate."

"I know enough. She doesn't deserve that role or Jesse's affections."

"Then take it from her," Santana shrugged.

"What?"

"The role. Take it. Play a little dirty and she'll be out of the picture."

Rachel bit her lip softly and looked away with a shake of her head.

"That's not how I get my parts. I play fair."

"Blah, blah, blah…" Santana, muttered with a roll of her eyes. "It isn't a fair business. The fact that you're still kicking your legs in the chorus is proof of that. You've got enough time to show them that you're the better choice and you can either stay in the chorus with that fake smile plastered all over your face, or you can grab that part by the balls and rip it from her."

Tapping her nail against the wine glass softly, she thought it out and looked over at Kurt.

"What do you think about all this?" she asked, noticing how silent he was.

"Honestly?" he muttered as he shut his laptop and set it aside. "I think she's kind of right. Maybe it's time to bring back a little bit of the Rachel Berry who would do anything to get ahead. Only in moderation, this time."

"Yeah, seriously. Let's bring back the girl who sent the competition to a crack house. New York is full of crack houses!" Santana chimed in excitedly.

"I don't need to stoop to those kind of tactics to get a part. I want to make it on my talent," Rachel insisted.

"Use your talent to get what you want," Kurt explained.

"What do you suggest?"

"Bring the bitch down!" Santana cried, making little Judy jump off the couch and run over behind Kurt's feet.

"Are you insinuating…" Rachel began, lowering her voice to a whisper. "…sabotage?"

"I'm saying do what you gotta do," Santana shrugged.

"But…"

"This is Thoroughly Modern Millie, we're talking about, Rachel. This could be your shot!" Kurt went on.

"Now, tell me when your next rehearsal is," said Santana with a sly look creeping about her face.

"Tomorrow."

"Then tonight, you're going to find a way to get that girl out to the bar and get her so wasted she can't even function at rehearsals. Then when the girl is too busy throwing her guts up and questioning her choices, you'll step up and show them what you've got!"

The idea didn't seem too terrible. If anything, she would just be giving herself an opportunity for the creative team to see her in a different light. Getting Angelica too drunk to function would only give her a second audition of sorts. It was a lot more tame than putting her in harm's way to make her completely unable to perform.

Biting her lip, Rachel reached into her pocket for the crumpled up card Angelica had given her before and contemplated it a little further.

"Trust in Auntie Tana. We're going to have your name up in lights as the star of that show and the likes of Jesse St. James will be nothing but an afterthought," Santana murmured as she grabbed the card and began dialing it on Rachel's cell phone. "Here you go."

"What?"

"It's ringing."

She quickly grabbed it from her and gulped as she pressed it to her ear.

"Santana, you really—Oh, hi Angelica! It's Rachel… Yeah, Rachel Berry from the show."

She could hear Angelica squealing on the other end.

"Oh hi, Rachel! I was just thinking about you!"

Rachel's eyebrows furrowed immediately.

"Why?"

Just then, she could hear Jesse's laugh in the background and she couldn't help but smile.

"Because it's a bummer you're not here with the rest of the cast, silly," she said with a giggle. "We need to fix that when you don't have to feed your cats."

That just made her cringe all over again when she remembered the excuse she gave them before.

"Well I wanted to fix that. Tonight. How about we get together for some drinks?" Rachel offered, jerking herself away when she felt Santana pressing herself against her to hear the whole conversation.

"Tonight? That would be great! I'll tell the rest of the cast here and we can make it a huge round two of the festivities right now. Hey, Jesse, I've got a proposal for you…"

Sighing softly, she lowered her face into her hand and waited for her to finish asking everyone.

"Alright, where exactly?" asked Angelica.

"Bourbon Street Bar. Have you heard of it?"

"Oh, I know where that is. That's the place with those cheap Hurricanes. We're so in. Anyway, I'll text you later with a possible meet up time."

"Great…" Rachel muttered, feeling a sense of dread in the pit of her stomach.

"See you then!"

She hung up and set the phone aside.

"That's taken care of," she muttered as she pulled her legs up against her chest.

"Time for the next step of my amazing plan. We need to get you all dressed up so Jesse will drool over you. Knowing his history with you, that wouldn't really take so much effort," said Santana, pushing herself up and snapping her fingers at Rachel to follow.

"What does Jesse have to do with this?" she asked, only moving when Kurt grabbed her arm and pulled her into her bedroom.

"It's obvious. Jesse is the male lead and he has a lot of pull with the director and producer. In addition to your talent, he can put in a good word for you when they need to recast," Kurt explained as he began filtering through her dresses in her closet for a match for the night.

"So you're going to sleep with him!" said Santana excitedly.

Rachel's jaw dropped at the mere thought.

"I am not going to try and seduce Jesse so he can help me! That's going way too far! I'm not going to degrade myself—"

"You don't have to sleep with him," Kurt cut in. "Just make him fall for you again and he'll be back to that puppy who would do anything for you to make you a star like he was when he tried to win you back a few years ago."

Rachel plopped down on her bed and glanced at her reflection in her dresser mirror. Was she really up for this kind of foul play?

"That doesn't sound fair," she murmured, grabbing the end of her ponytail to play with it between her fingertips.

"This is war, Rachel. War is never fair!" Kurt insisted.

"I could hurt him like that, though…"

"Payback's a bitch," Santana shrugged. "Now, no more arguments. We need to get you ready."

Rachel grabbed the short black dress that Kurt had laid out for her on the bed next to her and sighed, still not knowing how she felt about this. But she couldn't bring herself to refuse.

Giving them what they wanted, she showered and put on the dress chosen for her as well as her favorite pair of heels that she bought on her last shopping trip with Kurt a few weeks back. Sitting down in front of her vanity, she let Kurt work at styling her hair, but swatted Santana's hands away when she tried going near her with some lipstick.

"I do my own makeup," she insisted, reaching for her makeup kit on the dresser.

With Kurt blow drying her hair and her applying a sultry shimmery look on her eyelids, she was starting to feel her confidence boost. She could do this and gain a gold star on her dressing room door if she really tried.

When her hair was done and her makeup perfect, she stepped in front of her full length mirror and smoothed out the little black dress around her thighs. Swishing her hair a little, she smiled as she took in the sight of herself. It was the kind of look that she had definitely grown comfortable for herself over the past few years. She wasn't the wide eyed little girl from Ohio who made a string of mistakes one after the other. Now she was a woman who was going to take her future in her own hands and get what she deserved.

"Alright, let's go," said Santana, smacking Rachel's ass lightly to get her moving.

"Santana!" she yelped, shooting her a quick glare as she reached for her purse.

"I've taken the liberty of slipping a few condoms I stole from Kurt's room into your purse for good luck. Just in case you decide to give Jesse the wild night that he's been dreaming of since he tried getting into your panties in high school," Santana whispered, but still receiving a glare from Kurt who had obviously overheard.

"There's already a taxi downstairs waiting for you. I don't expect you home before two in the morning at the earliest," Kurt ordered as he pulled the front door to the apartment open.

"Now go on. We'll stop by in a few hours to check on you and see how you're doing," Santana promised. "Make me proud, Berry!"

Rolling her eyes, Rachel shook her head and boarded the elevator down to the front lobby to start off to the bar.

* * *

The ride up to midtown was a short one, thanks to the light amount of traffic on the weekday night. The city lights spun past her in a bit of a blur as the taxi zoomed down the streets and past the traffic lights that all seemed to conveniently be green to get her there faster than she was probably ready for. In no time, she was standing outside of the bar and showing the bouncer at the door her ID so he let her in.

The lighting in the bar was quite dim thanks to the hanging chandeliers that were on a warm low setting. It really added to the woman of mystery look that Santana and Kurt were going for when they dressed Rachel up for the evening.

Glancing around at the big room, she scanned the groups of people who were busy dancing and laughing as they sipped on drinks. None of them looked like anyone in her cast and she was beginning to wonder if she had gotten there too early.

"Rachel!"

Her eyes jumped up to the second floor where Angelica was leaning over the railing waving at her.

"Girl, I have a Hurricane with your name on it up here!" Angelica called, waving her hand wildly and making Rachel wonder how much she had already had to drink. Perhaps there wouldn't be too much work needed on her end to sabotage her and she wouldn't feel so bad after…

"On my way!" Rachel called out before trying to push her way through the crowds of people to get to the stair case.

She ran up the stairs as fast as her heels could take her and spotted the whole group crowding around a pretty large table by the back window. She spotted Angelica chatting up one of the other girls while sipping at her own drink and holding another one that she had promised for Rachel. Near to her, Jesse stood leaning up against the railing that looked over the first floor of the bar with his arms crossed.

Just as quickly as she had spotted him, he took a double take at her. Eyes wide, he set his empty glass down on the nearby table and waved.

Taking that as an invitation, she made her way over to him and ran her hand through her own hair in a way that he would when he was nervous. Maybe she was.

"Hi," she breathed, smiling up at him when she was close enough for him to hear her over the loud music.

"Hi, Rachel," he replied, looking down at her with the usual wonderstruck eyes he used to give her when he was a smitten teenage boy a few years ago. "You look… wow."

"I've grown up, Jesse," she replied simply, biting down on her lower lip and looking up at him with a soft smirk.

"Beautifully," he nodded in agreement. "You should let me buy you a drink. We're all celebrating, anyway."

She nodded and stepped back to give him space to head to the bar.

"Hey, girlfriend!" Angelica practically sang as she made her way over to Rachel. "You look hot!"

Raising her eyebrow softly, she murmured a word of thanks as she took her drink from the red head.

"Anyway, turns out that I know the bartender here and I'm getting us a really great discount. So there's more where that came from," Angelica winked.

"Thanks, Angelica."

"Please, call me Angie," she insisted as she put her arm around Rachel, who looked a little uncomfortable. "Oh, am I making you uncomfortable? I tend to cross boundaries sometimes by being too touchy with people. I keep forgetting that a lot of New Yorkers don't like being touched. I'm sorry…"

Rachel quickly shook her head and drank deeply from her drink.

"You're fine, Angie. Really," she insisted, looking around nervously for Jesse and frowning when she saw him chatting up another girl with long dark hair right next to the bar.

"If you're sure…" Angelica murmured as she began swaying to the music playing. Noticing Rachel's frown, she followed her eyes and spotted Jesse talking to the other girl.

"Do you like him?" she asked quietly.

It took an extra second to answer that then it probably should have.

"…What? Oh… No. We dated before, but it didn't work out."

"You don't seem too happy about him talking to someone else right now," Angelica observed.

"He said he was getting me a drink," she explained, pulling the straw on her current drink to her lips and chewing on it softly.

"You don't need a man to get you your drinks. Matter of fact, a girl doesn't need a man for anything. Not even one with a great smile and a head of hair like he has," she said with a soft nod.

Rachel looked up at the taller girl and smiled, nodding softly.

"His hair isn't even that great, honestly," she lied, shrugging softly.

Angelica side eyed her and chuckled. "Right…"

Not even noticing the look, Rachel drained the whole glass and set it down.

"Atta girl!" Angelica cheered before moving back to the bar. "I'm gonna go get you another one."

The buzz of the fruity alcohol was rushing through her and already making her feel warm and excited. It gave her a rush of energy and the courage to walk her way over to Jesse.

Tapping him on the shoulder lightly, she put her hands on her hips and eyed him with an arched brow.

"Oh hi again," he said, noticing her again.

"You owe me a drink, Mr. St. James," she reminded him, tapping her foot lightly on the hardwood floor. "You left me hanging back there with 'Angie'."

"Isn't she great?" Jesse smiled, but it quickly faded when he saw how upset she looked. Running his hand through his hair, he grabbed the drink the bartender had just handed him and slid it over to her.

She took it and put the straw to her lips. "So who was the girl?"

"Oh her? Her name is Sheila and—"

"Sheila?" Rachel muttered, already hating the sound of the name for some reason. She peered around him at the girl who was now talking to someone else, instantly wondering what she wanted from Jesse.

"Yeah. We did a workshop a year ago and she just got a part in Chicago. I was congratulating her," he explained.

"Oh… I see," Rachel murmured, quickly feeling bad for instantly judging her.

"So beat the drums, 'cause here comes thoroughly modern ANGIE, now!" Angelica sang as she danced her way over to them. Laughing out loud, she sat on Jesse's lap and pushed another drink into Rachel's hand. "Drink up! When you finish, we're all going to dance."

Jesse wrapped his arm around Angelica's waist and nodded. Rachel's mood was quickly starting to grow sour again.

"Rachel said she didn't like your hair," Angelica slipped as she tried to hunt for the cherry in her cup with her straw. "I think it's glorious."

"Hey!" Rachel squeaked, nearly choking on her drink.

Jesse furrowed his eyebrows and looked over at Rachel with a confused frown.

"How come?" he asked, running his hand through his shortened hair a little.

"I… um… simply mean that your hair used to look a lot nicer when you had it grown out. I liked your curls. They were all springy and cute," she explained with a small laugh, finding that the buzz of the alcohol was starting to make her almost as giggly as Angelica. It also shielded her from feeling awkward for saying what she just said.

"Fair enough," he muttered as he watched her down another drink.

"Aw, Jesse. You had longer curly hair?" Angelica asked, bringing her hand up to practically pet Jesse's head.

"Back in high school and a little while after that, yeah," he replied, moving his head away a little to protect the state of his hair.

"You guys have known each other for a while, huh?" she asked, her eyes shooting from Jesse to Rachel curiously.

"Yeah. I knew her back when she used to wear—"

"Shh…Jesse, don't!" Rachel squealed, diving forward to cover his mouth in dramatics fueled entirely by the alcohol.

Laughing out loud, he pulled away and gently nipped at her fingers.

"Animal sweaters!"

"Jesse!"

"Cute little sweaters with teddy bears and owls and kittens," he laughed as he recalled it all.

"Please tell me you have pictures," Angelica laughed.

"Maybe. We'll see," Jesse shrugged. "And don't look so upset, Rach. You were adorable and you loved the look back then."

She knew he was right, but she didn't want to seem like an amateur little baby when she wanted so bad to be seen as a grown woman, especially in his eyes right now. He never got the chance to get to know the new Rachel that had been born when she went off to New York and she really wanted him to now. She was more than the naive girl he remembered. She was a woman.

"You're in for a surprise now that you're getting reacquainted with the Rachel I am now," she said, practically teasing as she let her hand rest on his arm.

She was sure that Santana would be approving of how she was talking to him now, but she hadn't really been trying to put any moves on him for any sort of ulterior motive. There was an actual desire to impress him and prove him that she was a grown woman now. She wasn't sure why, but the alcohol banished the thought from her mind soon enough.

But she still had a job to do with Angelica and she wouldn't forget it.

"I owe you a drink, Angie," Rachel said with a smirk as she signaled for the bartender to send her another Hurricane.

Angelica bit her lip and smiled as she took the drink, immediately starting to sip at it as she swayed to the music on Jesse's lap.

"Thanks, girl," she smiled as she grabbed the slice of orange from the side of the glass and bit down on it.

"So how about that dance?" Rachel asked, glancing from Jesse to Angelica with an arched brow. "Both of you. Let's go. The night is young…"


End file.
